


Counting Petals

by QuillQ



Series: Lost in the Evergreen Forest [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, Female Harry, Female Harry Potter, Mokuton, POV Multiple, Reincarnated Harry Potter, Reincarnation, Side Story, Snippets, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-26 18:15:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30110049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuillQ/pseuds/QuillQ
Summary: Side snippets and drafts from Falling Leaves of Evergreen Trees.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Harry Potter
Series: Lost in the Evergreen Forest [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2215509
Comments: 56
Kudos: 129





	1. Kakashi - A matter of ideology

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of; this is a collection of drafts connected to my other story; Falling Leaves of Evergreen Trees. If you haven’t read that story than this will not make a lot of sense. There’s no set posting schedule or length requirements on this. I’ll be skipping back and forth in the story timeline, and there will be different point of views. 
> 
> This snippet is one of the first scenes I wrote for the Evergreen story while I was figuring out where it was heading. I was playing around with the dynamic between Kakashi, Tenzō and Hari while figuring out the difference between the Mokuton of the latter two.  
> This short little scene was discarded and left in my “Draft-Dump” ever since, as it was written from Kakashi’s perspective (and as you might have realized; Falling Leaves of Evergreen Trees is all from Hari’s point of view).  
> Since this was written so long ago I had to polish it up a little and correct the mistakes I could find. Nothing exciting happens, but well… someone might be interested in reading it anyway.  
> Timeline wise this scene takes place around chapter 20 (around the time after Tenzō left Root).
> 
> And lastly; English isn't my native language, so I apologize for the mistakes.

**#1 Kakashi  
**

**A matter of ideology**

Kakashi can’t blame Hisao for jealously hoarding Hari to himself over the years. Not now that he too has grown accustomed to the upgraded living standards during missions. The days of sleeping in the rain and mud is a distant memory, being forced to eat dry soldier pills an old annoyance. He was currently enjoying an assortment of fresh fruit, berries and nuts for his lunch that wouldn’t look out of place in a store bought gift basket. It all lead to one conclusion: having a Mokuton user on the squad is too convenient, and Kakashi never wants to go back.

Tenzō was a very good ANBU who’d slid into the working dynamic of team Ro with startling ease. He was reliable and useful on missions, and spent all his time training to be the perfect ANBU. In many ways he already was; having been raised in Root it meant the Shadow division was all he knew.

As a whole Tenzō was under the opinion Root and ANBU weren’t that different. The unit structure was based on the same system, the missions were similar while the training hours were just as long and intense.Though there were some differences that Tenzō had yet to adjust to. After all; Root did not have Hari.

“And _what_ do you call this? Are you really trying to pass off these splinters as Mokuton?” Hari throws her arms in the air, gesturing wildly towards a stunned looking Tenzō, who’s opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish. “The very structure of your wood makes them less stable. Look at this!”

Hari walks over and rips Tenzō’s wooden pole out of the ground. “Though I get the idea, the way these planks are formed makes for the really brittle results. You build along the length and so you get speed, shape and precision - but you loose so much of the strength as well!”

Seated comfortably on an elevated boulder, Kakashi had already began eating when Yugao comes over to join him for lunch. She’d not been drawn to this spot for him in particular, but the meal entertainment. Namely Tenzō and Hari’s practise session.

Hari growls, throwing away the plank as if it offended her. They were in the middle of a heated discussion – one that stemmed from the differences in their jutsu repertoires. One would assume two people with the same bloodline would use the same jutsu; but they had surprisingly few techniques in common, and crossing the bridge between them was proving challenging.

“Lapping textures Tenzō! Your wooden poles are no more sturdy than the fast grown commercial planks we ship to Land of Hot springs for the bathhouses fences, but if you want the gritty, solid trunks you need to dig deeper.”

Her hand reached out, and a pale branch, both knobbly and organic – nothing at all like the geometrical shapes Tenzō always produced – grows out from her hand. “Feel how solid this is. It’ll take a scorch or lava release to put it aflame. You could bludger rocks with the strength of this!”

She lifts up the piece of wood, and for a moment Kakashi fears Hari is about to demonstrate that last point, but instead she hands it over to Tenzō for inspection.

He accepts it, but is a little bewildered. “… what does ‘bludger’ mean?” Which is an excellent question that Kakashi couldn’t answer either.

“Look at the rings,” she insists while completely ignoring the question, pointing to the ring pattern in the cross section of her branch with energetic gusto. “And then compare it to your own. Even the weight of these two samples are vastly different. Though they are similar in size, mine is three times as heavy and has four times as many rings-”

Hari gestures to Tenzō’s brown coloured and lighter piece of wood. “This is campfire wood, but this-” She holds up her own this time. “-may actually hold out against more than the blow from a hammer.”

“It’s too slow.” Tenzō insists petulantly, unable to keep a pout at bay. “You take too long.”

“If I want attacks that require more speed I’d rather use suiton. Or heck, even doton. Quality over speed, Tenzō.”

“They are still going at it?” Yugao murmurs with a humorous grin stretching her lips up at the corners.

Kakashi nods and offers up the plate of fruit. There was a lot there, and he wouldn’t be able to eat it all on his own. “Mah, I think they’re finally coming to some semblance of agreement though.”

“I can’t believe they managed to find a way to argue about trees. They have the same bloodline.” Yugao shakes her head, looking honestly put out, but doesn’t hesitate when picking a handful of grapes to eat.

Kakashi scratches his chin, his eye closing in a smile. “It’s a matter of ideology. Tenzō is more of a structured builder, while Hari is more of a free spirited gardener.” He shrugs helplessly. “I guess their artistic senses just clash from time to time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	2. Minato – Don’t ask (she won’t tell)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a brief insight into Minato's opinion on Hari. This would take place around chapter 6/7 - set in that stretch of time after Hari's heart to heart with Kushina, but before the Kyubi attack.
> 
> English is still not my native language, so please forgive the mistakes.

**#2 Minato**

**Don’t ask (she won’t tell)**

“-the process of- of... mol-ding... chakra into an element is…. Consi… considered…. Advanced? Huh, yes, _advanced_ chakra control. Co-combi-ning an element with… shape… ma… ma… ni…? Pul-ation? Oh, it’s; ‘manipulation’ isn’t it…? Re… re… eh…?”

The drifting sound of Hari’s low mumbling trails off and doesn’t re-appear, causing Minato to discretely peer over to check how she was faring. He was tempted to head over and read the sentence aloud for her. It would be more time-efficient, but knew she would not appreciate it if he did.

Whenever he tried to assist her with these matters Hari would turn silent and uncooperative. She never complained or protested, but it had not taken Minato long to realize her inability to read and write was a sore spot for her - something she felt almost ashamed about.

On one hand Minato could not fathom why; it wasn’t Hari’s fault she had been kept imprisoned with no way to learn, but on the other hand he was quite pleased as well. Though it was a negative side-effect that Hari was so bothered whenever she required assistance to read and write; it meant she had pride. And was it one thing the quiet girl needed; it was to feel secure in herself.

Her pride bleeds through in the smaller moments such as this, because instead of asking one of the three people available – neither Minato, Genma or Raidō would mind answering her after all - she keeps quiet and stare at the page in solitude; willing it to make sense through the power of her death glare alone. Who know, perhaps it would work. Being at the receiving end of Hari’s glare was unexpectedly intimidating for such a tiny girl that most described as “adorable”.

So Minato pretends to be occupied while observing her from the corner of his eye instead.

Unable to make sense of the text, Hari’s gaze remains stuck on a singular spot on the page, her frown deepening with building frustration. Her fingers reach up to push against the bridge of her nose, but meeting no resistance she halts briefly and then scratch the spot, before falling back to the page.

Hari had a habit of doing that motion whenever she struggled. It had taken Minato some effort to figure out why it seemed off before the source of the disparity dawned on him. Normally it was done when a person pushed up their glasses – but as Hari didn’t wear spectacles it seemed a bit odd for her to do it so frequently. Minato assumed she had picked it up from someone at the hospital, and since Hari tried so hard to fit in she copied the gesture.

Adjustment periods wasn’t easy for anyone though, so all things considered Minato believed Hari had come a long way in the two years since she was freed.

Sure, there were a few setbacks she had to compensate for. From the physical kind like strength and speed, to the intellectual kind; like reading, writing and the academy curriculum. But Hari was a diligent student. She didn’t ever really stop working, and he was seeing progress on a weekly basis - sometime even from one practice session to the next.

Yet it was difficult to just stand aside and watch because someone was being too stubborn to ask for assistance, especially for an issue so easily fixed, and Minato contemplates a few options. Perhaps he’d walk past her and accidentally read the sentence aloud. Make it seem as if he too was curious about what was written, and that way Hari would receive the answer without having to ask.

Minato spends a little too long and doesn’t get the chance to set his plan into action, since Genma comes to a stop next to him. His hands trembling from chakra overuse. “Minato-sama… I think I overdid it.”

Minato reach out for a better look at Genma’s hand. Fuinjutsu could be very hard on the chakra network, and using certain techniques frequently was taxing. He’d been pressing the Hokage guard platoon recently, and Genma wasn’t the first to end up with swollen hands from using volatile jutsus.

“You’re right. I think you’re done for the day.”

Genma decides to sit down and take a break before heading back to the village, which would normally be alright; but just this once Minato wished he hadn’t.

From across the clearing Hari’s head turns slowly in his direction. She’s trying to remain covert – probably contemplating the necessity of asking for assistance - though the likelihood of her admitting her struggles to both himself _and_ Genma was near none existent.

If her previous habits was any indication; Hari would probably wait until the session was over and then go check the word in a dictionary.

It seemed such an insignificant thing to get hung up on to Minato, but he could understand her frustration with being reliant on everyone around her. It was weird to see it in someone so young though. Even if they had made Genin, most kids around her age still lived at home and was better at asking when they encountered a problem they struggled with.

Then again; Hari wasn’t like most kids her age. Only two years ago she had needed assistance with standing up and going to the bathroom. Perhaps the steadily increasing freedom from walking on her own to picking what she could eat was too intoxicating for her to accept that there remained areas she couldn’t master on her own.

Being self-reliant was well and good, but if it got in the way of progress and cooperation, then it had gone too far. For a long time Minato had thought Hari was at risk of ending up in the latter category, but only until recently.

  
  


He still isn’t sure what changed – if anything actually had or if he was just imagining it – but after the kidnapping attempt a few weeks ago he’d registered a few differences in her. It’s hard to put a finger on it - it’s nothing major after all - but Hari seemed a little less closed off and a little more approachable than before.

Maybe the incident shocked Hari out of her stupor. Perhaps it made her reconsider the way she lived – something like that had happened to Kakashi as well once - but Minato had a nagging suspicion that wasn’t it. Instead he thinks Kushina got to her.

Hari had spent a few days living at their house and his wife had a way of swaying people, but no one has confirmed or denied it yet.

  
  


From across the clearing Hari sighs heavily and stands up, her expression a little tense but decided. She walks over and Minato turns to her with a friendly smile. With Hari; it was better to let her come to him.

“Minato-sama… I’m sorry to interrupt, but do you mind explaining a word for me?” She asks with the air of someone who just wants it all to be over - as fast as possible – and gestures to the word in the journal that was giving her so much trouble.

Minato is a little shocked that she asked at all.

Hari saw him as the Hokage first and a sensei secondarily – so normally only asked whenever there was something she considered “worth while” to bother him with. Like if she was very stuck on elemental ninjutsu. And not only was the topic of her reading abilities poking a sore nerve for her, but to ask in front of Genma was unprecedented.

“… That means ‘requires’.” He answers with a short nod. Hari quickly thanks him and returns to her spot on the other end of the clearing to read the journal. It was one of the few sources they had access to written by Senju Hashirama.

Minato is certain this would _not_ have happened a few weeks ago, but he’s encouraged by the small changes. It was refreshing to get these brief glimpses of who Hari was beyond the traumatized hostage rescue-case he’d interacted with so far. As a hard working and talented student he had nothing against Hari of course, but it was a relief to know there was more to her than the silent shell that usually showed up for practice.

In the beginning she had been like a lonely island in the distance, clear and within sight yet near impossible to reach. He had also been quite discouraged that even after months, the girl still only spoke when directly addressed and viewed everyone as strangers to be kept at arm’s length. There had been days where Hari was the definition of someone “going through the motions”. All action with no sense of presence.

He isn’t the only one who notice the difference though.

“She’s asking for help now? You know, Minato-sama; I don’t mind reading the parts she struggles with during the lessons.” Genma offers, though mindful to keep his voice too low for Hari to overhear him.

“Yes, but she wouldn’t learn much if we read everything for her either.” Minato points out.

“I know, but it’s taking up practice time.” Genma notes.

“Yes, but we can afford the delay. Just let her read through the section on her own.” He says and glance over, only to recognize the tell tale signs that Hari was stuck on yet another foreign word.

He refrain from grimacing.

“You sure…?” Genma muses, having noticed her renewed struggles too.

Minato shakes his head, grinning lightly. “Yes.”

They settle into a comfortable silence, Minato contemplating how far everyone has gotten.

At home it wouldn’t be long until his son would be born – a nerve wrecking but exciting deadline which was coming much too fast and yet not fast enough. Minato was finally getting the swing of his new position as the Yondaime, the members of his selected Hokage guard platoon had mastered the new version of the Hiarishin, while Hari had activated her Mokuton bloodline. If things went well he’d ask Hari to join the guard in a few years, though she had a ways to go still.

His thoughts are interrupted by a half strangled hissing sound, and Minato and Genma both startles when Hari’s temper finally snaps.

“Bloody hell!” She exclaims furiously, clutching the text tightly as if readying to tear it apart, which causes Minato to feel a pang of worry for the safety of the journal. It was one of a kind and happened to be a priceless historical source. The elders would give him so much grief if it got ruined by a water puddle because Hari had problems interpreting Senju Hashirama’s penmanship.

Fortunately for Minato that doesn’t happen. Instead she drops it to the ground in a tantrum, and Hari settles for ripping off a tree branch and throwing it aside to expel her agitation. Apparently that isn’t enough though, and in a building storm of pent up rage Hari runs off into the forest, disappearing out of sight to the sound of snaps and bangs which grows increasingly distant.

Hmmm... that temper was a new development.

Genma glance at him pointedly, but Minato hold up a hand to signal he should _not_ go after her.

The teen nods slowly, though he can’t help but comment. “Did she say… bloody hell?”

Minato chuckles nervously. “He, he, yes… I think it’s just a swear word of hers.”

Most of the time Hari acted reluctant to speak up at all, so the unusually strong word-tick of hers; “bloody hell” was just notably very out of place with the otherwise quiet and cute little girl. Minato was sure the strange word phrasing was just something Hari had picked up… somewhere. Perhaps someone very unfortunate at the hospital - _he hoped_.

But on the off chance Hari really did walk around picturing the world as a blood soaked damnation dimension…

Well, with what he knew of her background Minato was honestly a little too afraid to ask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, and please stay safe!


	3. Luna -  Down the rabbit hole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is more of a “what if” scenario I plaid around with a while ago after a reader asked “what would happen if Hari connected with her original world?” - but I couldn’t figure out a scenario where that would happen.  
> Yet I did have a couple ideas for what might have happened to the rest of the Potter gang after Harry died at the height of the second war – so here you go. A “sort of” crossover between the Evergreen-verse and the Harry Potter world. But it’s kind of not… yet it is… but it’s not?
> 
> To be honest I don’t know what it is; perhaps a bit of an introverted character study more than anything else? It was surprisingly difficult to write, since there is not a single dialogue exchange in this - which is something I usually try hard to avoid, but I couldn't find a way around it with the setup I was writing. I'm not sure I liked how this turned out, but I hope at least one or two people will enjoy it.
> 
> Lastly: English is not my native language, and I apologize for the mistakes.

**#3 Luna**

**Down the rabbit hole**

Luna always knew she had an active imagination. Her parents had unfailingly encouraged her to follow both physical and spiritual fancies, though Luna usually drifted more towards the latter. Most of her childhood was spent with her head in the clouds, so much so Luna sometimes ignored the tangible world around her.

It was more rewarding to theorize about what the ideal habitat for the Moon Frogs was, the purpose of the Dabberblimps and the hopes of one day proving the existence of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, than follow the latest riffle in Witch Weekly. The nargles and wrackspurts were much kinder than the mean kids who made fun of her.

These perceptions came to heads when Luna was nine and her mother died in a horrible accident. Her warm, whimsical mother had been a dreamer reaching for the inexplicable, but it turned out her dream had not been compatible with reality – and the failed mixture had led to a traumatic reminder that chasing dreams could have unforgiving consequences. Yet it had not stopped her from believing, and for better or worse; it would come to define everything about Luna “Loony” Lovegood.

She had spent years alongside Rolf discovering magical creatures, even if it was a little disappointing to accept that perhaps the Crumple-Horned Snorkack was made up by her father after all. Even now, as a grown, married woman who’d fought through a war, experienced horrible losses and the mother of two fantastic boys - Luna kept searching. Continued to believe that if one just had the patience to look at something the right way with the correct mindset; there were undiscovered wonders eagerly awaiting to show themselves.

Her curiosity has always been her core drive. It had determined her house at Hogwarts, to her rabbit shaped Patronum charm which Harry had taught her at fourteen. When Luna is seeking, it’s as if she can literally picture her curiosity jumping down the rabbit hole – her bouncing Patronus lighting the way ahead.

So she credited her curiosity as the main source of both her greatest and worst memories. The lowest lows and highest highs.

Her dumbest mistakes and wisest choices.

It’d all come to heads eventually – as these things so often did.

Most who knew her thought Luna had taken her obsession with finding magical enigmas a little further than was recommendable. It had started with her occupation as a wizarding naturalist discovering fantastic beasts alongside Rolf.

Yet for each question answered, three more popped up - and before Luna was entirely sure how it happened, she was an Unspeakable hired by the Department of Mysteries. Working alongside a crowd of magical experimental researchers who made Luna seem as grounded and strait-laced as Hermione in comparison.

So though her father wasn’t happy Luna was a Ministry of Magic employee, she couldn’t deny she had always loved a good mystery.

As a direct recipient of a ‘love sacrifice’, Luna was especially valued on the team trying to figure out how it worked. And oh, she had so many ideas.

A few of which she had been working diligently to bring to fruition.

  
  


_It’s witching hour, and there’s an expectancy in the air._

_Luna had_ _locked down the space room and started_ _up her test ritual just as Mars floats passed her head. The Red Planet of war and power._

_She decided to set up her station in this section since Luna has always been drawn to this room. Even chased by Death Eaters in her fourth year had not been enough to distract from the wonders of floating through space._

_The magic is eager; ready to be challenged, and Luna has_ _**that** _ _sensation running through her. She simply_ _**knows** _ _that after several weeks of failures; something is about to happen._

  
  


As an Unspeakable Luna was studying the effects of sacrificial blood- magic.

This mysterious, uncharted branch of soul-magic had been credited as one of the key factors they won the Second Wizarding War, resulting in the ministry generously founding the research ever since its conclusion.

After years of investigation they now understood _why_ it happened.

Harry Potter had willingly sacrificed himself in the Forbidden Forest, and in death cast a protection spell akin to the likes Lily Potter had performed on her son.

When Voldemort made his victory lap it had gone horribly wrong for him, starting with how Neville had broken free from the burning hat and cut the head off Voldemort’s snake. It had made him furious, but when the Dark Lord started throwing curses, none of his spells were effective anymore - not against someone touched by Harry’s protection.

Not that they understood the why’s and how’s at the time; they were just very thankful for the many strange magical mishaps Voldemort had been experiencing at such a crucial time. The Dark Lord had still been dangerous, but reinforcement had arrived, and Voldemort had been pushed back by the defenders of Hogwarts. Inevitably he snapped and started throwing killing curses at random, where one hit Susan Bones in the back; only for it to backfire.

Susan had required a few weeks in St. Mungos afterwards, but Voldemort had died from yet another rebounding killing curse - ending the war for good.

That was only the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of things though - not the _‘how’._

How did it work?

How come Lily and Harry’s sacrifices were so effective?

They had several working theories, but nothing concrete to point to and say; “That’s it. That is how you do it.”

Perhaps they would never know, but Luna did not mind. The road to answers were engaging enough to keep her satisfied. Especially when her job consisted of a lot of time and effort navigating the unknown.

Though Luna took care to be a little less experimental than her mother and a bit more critical than her father. Life had taught her the hard way that what she searched for isn’t necessarily what she would find.

_Luna begins the conjuring repetitions and casts the spells to activate the ritual, causing the instruments to start humming._

_The hairs on the back of her neck rise with the building charge in the air. There’s a swooping sensation inside her, as if something awakes._

To understand the ‘how’ it meant Luna had to study soul-magic – but how did one go about that?

To describe it as a; “complicated process” would be a gross understatement, as it had taken Luna and a team of her fellow Unspeakable years to get anywhere. The infuriatingly difficult aspect of soul-magic was the fact it was only tangible on a spiritual level. Leaving the basic five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch useless. They were insufficient and unable to handle the impalpable.

So to study sacrificial blood magic like the spell Harry had cast; Luna had to peer at souls with her own spirit.

Anyone who heard this would have doubts and think the implications scary – _and they’d be right to._

The instruments they’d built in the Department of Mysteries would combine a sample of her blood, a personal object of Harry’s combined with rune values Luna had painstakingly installed over the last year, and use it all to cast a ritual. If done right Luna would be pulled into a trance like state where spirits were more tangible. Her goal was to take advantage of this “enhanced” state of being to enable her to read the soul-magic Harry had cast on her. When you were more connected with the spirit than flesh and blood it meant distance acted differently, so if Luna was very fortunate, she would be able to trace the magic to everyone else Harry had protected too.

This was a mysterious condition to inflict on a living being though.

To be more connected to the soul than body was frightening, exhilarating, peaceful and overwhelming – all at once. It was no wonder people commented that Luna had turned even more “loopy” as of late. Though she’d only used it successfully twice in the past; it took some adjusting to get her head back on straight after a session.

_The ritual illuminates faintly in the dark room of drifting stars. Luna has done this ritual twice before to partial success. For this third attempt she had changed the ritual object at the center, exchanging Harry’s old hairbrush for a familiar pair of round glasses._

As an Unspeakable Luna wasn’t allowed to tell exactly why or what she wanted with them, but eventually Ron had reluctantly handed over Harry’s glasses with the promise to return them within the month.

The humming changes pitch – grows a tone or two higher - before slowly moving into one drawn out note. And as this is her third time listening to the song of souls, Luna can not help but note; _this time it sounds a little bit different._

And as if the realization is the catalyst that starts the domino effect; everything goes wrong. Luna’s eyes shoots open _(when had she closed them to begin with?)_ to find the protection runes around the ritual frantically gleaming a scarlet red. They’re trying – but failing – to halt the ritual.

The tone reach higher, ringing in her ears like a never ending stroke of a bell.

_The process has gone too far,_

_the runes are too late_ _._

Her gaze falls on the glasses in the middle of the ritual, unsure how to cut this before it went horribly, _terribly_ wrong.

The ritual was doing parts of its task correctly though, and Luna is already halfway into a spirit state. A condition which makes her able to read and interpret the behaviour of the magic in her failing ritual.

Luna is terrified to realize it’s _searching, searching, searching;_ confused yet insistingly looking for the connected soul - _for Harry._

 _But Harry is dead! He’s across the veil, and the ritual should not be able to pull Luna along to search there. It’s got nowhere to go -_ It can’t find -

Her thoughts are cut off when it seems as if reality itself is being torn apart. Luna is pulled from the layers of bone, flesh and blood when her soul hooks up with something inexplicable – it’s beyond description, expression and explanation.

Luna only knows she _transcends._

  
  


  
  


  
  


Fortunately Luna had learned from her mother’s mistakes. She has two children who she’s unwilling to leave just yet, a husband and a father expecting her to return home, and friends who’s stood by her through thick and thin who’s lost too many for her carelessness to make her another number on the deceased list.

And so some of the additional safety measures blares to life, tethering Luna back before she is swallowed to drift in an abyss indefinitely.

What happens next is beyond her to comprehend. Time becomes impossible to measure. It could be half a second or half a year, and she wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, but she’s at last _arrived._ Come to the destination the ritual deemed right.

Wherever she is clears up, and Luna finds herself half in two worlds at once. Not so much her body, as her consciousness.

It’s a huge relief to Luna that she can still feel a connection to her body. Whatever went wrong wasn’t beyond her yet, though it is all too easy to get lost when split between flesh and mind, so she will have to be quick to navigate her way back.

Yet it’s impossible not to take a moment to orientate herself first. Luna had felt as if the ritual would connect her to one of the others, most likely Hermione, Ron, Neville or any of the many who’d fought at Hogwarts and had been touched by Harry’s sacrifice.

If so she would perhaps have barged in on Molly and Arthur babysitting one of their younger grandchildren, maybe interrupt one of Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures classes where Hugo Weasley might be goofing around with his cousin Louis. It could have drawn her to Ginny and Anthony Goldstein who had yet to return from their extended island hopping in Thailand with their twin daughters Frida and Gwyneth, or an unexpected but never-wasted visit to George’s joke-shop.

In truth she isn’t sure what to expect, but the sight that greets her isn’t one of them. For one; Luna was viewing the world as a spirit and they didn’t have eyes; _so she shouldn’t be able to see at all,_ yet somehow she does anyway.

What she sees is a clearing.

Luna is well traveled in both the muggle and the magic world, yet she’s never seen anywhere quite like this. The shade of the blue sky is sharper and clearer than how Luna has ever experienced it before, to the completely foreign flora and vegetation. There are many species of the trees, flowers and bushes she doesn’t recognize either.

There are people here too, and they are what alarms Luna the most.

They are just kids - but they are fighting. _Violently._

Their movements are unbelievably fast, a blur of directions in the wind as they flare back and forth, interrupted sporadically as two or more clash together with steel tools.

The clank as the weapons collide chimes in her ears, and Luna is completely bewildered yet fascinated despite herself. The kids actions are terrifying; but she’d be lying if she didn’t find it mighty impressive as well. Their reactions and movements are too fast and powerful for a human. It’s downright unnatural.

It takes her a moment to distinguish their genders, but she figures there are two boys and one girl. It’s hard to tell since they do not stand still for long periods of times, and one of the boys also has hip length, strawberry blonde hair and wears it in a high ponytail just like Parvati did during fifth year. Their attires are foreign too, as their clothes seems abnormal even for muggle fashions yet confusingly unisex to Luna – though at least the girl wears a set of sensible summer-robes.

The strawberry blonde boy is also the tallest, and in the scuffle he aims in on the smallest. His foot makes contact with the girl’s stomach – kicking her clean through the air and across the field. The young girl lands hard and rolls several times, stirring up dust and gravel before coming to a stop.

Luna would have shouted from the shock if she could; but as a spirit she does not have lungs or a mouth to do so. _She isn’t really here._ Like a trip into a pensieve Luna hasn’t really arrived anywhere, she’s only peeking into a world beyond her ability to affect or interact with – purely to observe and learn from.

It’s first then she notes the adult in the clearing. He’s tall and dark haired. Wearing a tall collared coat and muggle sunglasses while he observes the kids without reacting. Luna can not fathom how he could remain passive and not interfere – put a stop to this.

The kids are not normal though, and might be beyond him. Their movements isn’t something Luna think she would survive, they are just too fast, but at least he should be _trying._ Tell them to cut it off; at least pretend to feel something while he stood by and watched two boys beat up the little girl.

Her confusion makes way for a sick trail of thoughts. Maybe the man did not want it to stop. Maybe this is exactly what he wants; _perhaps he was the one to make them do it._

The boy dash for the girl, a glimmering knife in his hand, but before Luna has to watch the child become a murderer the girl gets back on her feet. Which is shocking in itself. That kick had been hard, it could have killed her, and even if it didn’t Luna had seen people get their backs broken from less impacts.

Not only does the girl get back up, but she’s able to block the knife while dodging backwards.

Luna is officially beyond confused. Not just by what is going on but how she ended up here to begin with. There’s a feint pull towards the group, and if Luna didn’t know better she’d say her ritual had connected her with one of them.

 _Yet that_ _doesn’t make a lot of sense either._ Luna is sure Harry’s protection wouldn’t extend to anyone here – the kids are too young and is a man who allows this kind of violence the kind of person Harry would protect with a life sacrifice?

But though Luna would dearly appreciate a few answers; she does not belong here and it was simply too risky to remain. Instead she begins the process to return her consciousness back where it belongs. There’s not much to do but concentrate – it’s more of a spiritual fight than a physical one – but as she starts trying to extract herself - Luna feels another distinct pull. A tremble runs through her spirit at the same moment as spells are introduced to the fight ahead of her.

Everything is moving too fast for Luna to catch exactly what happened, but out of nowhere a wave of gushing water crashes onto the clearing.

So far they had been fighting like super-powered muggles, and peers Luna looks around, wondering which of them cast such a volatile aguamenti – but no one has their wands out.

The water shapes itself in mid-air and starts going after the boys, effectively pushing them away, and it’s first then Luna comprehends how the girl is _wandlessly_ controlling the stream. The only indication of incarnations are how her hands are held in a strange and uncomfortable position. As if those motions are enough of a medium to direct the magic of her spellwork.

The last of the trio – the dark haired boy – counter with his own wandless spell. A dark substance drags over the ground, swallowing the light in shadows. The other two kids are weary of it, and gets out of the way to prevent being caught by the darkness.

This is when the girl speaks up, shouting a quick comment to the dark haired boy with the black magic – and Luna realize she has absolutely no clue what language that was. The boy retorts in the same unknown language, though the speech pattern makes her think of Asia.

She also notes the playful smile on the girl’s previously stressed expression. The tone of their voices had been hurried, but not alarmed… Had it? Was it just a language barrier that had made it sound that way, or had the tones of their voices almost seemed… playful?

The fighting was a combination of inhuman muggle martial-arts and spell casting, but the more Luna observed, the more she began to suspect this was not a battle – it was a duel.

_What was going on?_

_Who were these people?_

_Why were they doing this?_

_**Where** _ _the bloody hell had she ended up?_

It’s true Luna’s curiosity was peaked, but this is the moment she hears the familiar hum again – the first note in the song of souls. And Luna is not willing to wait around, risking the possibility of exchanging her life with her family for answers she hadn’t even originally been curious about.

It looked as if Luna isn’t the only one done with the session either.

The man has moved forwards, speaking a quick command, and as if a switch had been turned off the three kids stop fighting immediately. Causing the duel to come to an end in a chaos of lapping darkness, crashing waves and fast moving punches that ceases and collapse.

With the efficiency of letting go of a rubber band stretched too far, the atmosphere snaps - and suddenly Luna is not studying three child soldiers anymore. The inhuman powers drifts out of sight and so out of mind, leaving the kids acting almost normal.

The tall boy starts massaging a sore spot on his hip, the brunette sets to wring out water from his shirt, while sweaty and bruised the girl falls back on her behind exhausted. The only English speaking witch present is still none the wiser about what is being said, but she’s sure there are friendly exchange of taunts and complaints being passed around. With the way they behaved they could almost pass for a trio of first year students at Hogwarts.

Still too exhausted to get up the small girl turns her head to gaze over the section of the clearing Luna has stuck to.

With the child sitting still and facing her it allows Luna a proper overlook. It nails in the fact that the girl is a complete stranger unlike anyone Luna has met before - yet in that instance there is something achingly familiar about her all the same.

Something about the way her bright silver eyes narrow, the pull of her lips when she frowns; there’s something achingly familiar about her.

Like someone disguised by a polyjuice potion, leaving Luna to search out the traces of an old friend hidden within the intensity of her steel shaded gaze, or the angle her head ends up in when she tilts it to the side.

The rushing noise of her ritual magic has deafened out the conversation between the kids, so even if Luna could understand anything; she would not have been able to hear. As the pressure builds the girl withdraws from the rest, more interested in contemplating the area around Luna; though it doesn’t seem she finds what she’s looking for.

An undefinable emotion crosses through her silver eyes, which strikes a cord in Luna. Though she can not figure out why she may feel this way; Luna is left with an abstruse impression that the girl can hear the song too.

Maybe not with her ears, but that parts of her spirit was listening intently too. On an unconscious level registering the vibration of Luna’s presence and keying the child in on how they were not so alone in this clearing after all.

Pushing aside the reminder of her destructive powers, Luna concludes that the girl has a kind face, but her eyes are sad and dulled despite their bright colour.

An answer is floating tantalizingly near, almost at the tip of her tongue, and Luna can _nearly but not quite_ recognize the girl.

The song grows too loud – it’s very distracting – and since Luna is at the verge of leaving, the world before her eyes begins to fade.

This is when the girl turns her head sharply away, as if she wants to avoid watching when Luna disappear, and the strained expression alight a long forgotten memory. She had just looked exactly like -

_Harry?_

As Luna is swept off the name rings in her head for the duration of a split second. _But no more._

Regardless of her attempt to hold onto it, the name slips away in the bewildering process of traversing worlds. Though Luna returns to her body and remember most of the perplexing experience, the end will forever remain an unsettling sensation of vague disarray.

And it’s a shame, truly, that some things simply aren’t meant to cross.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, as mentioned in the top AN; I'm very uncertain about how this turned out. Though I appreciate those who still gave it a try! Thank you for reading!


	4. Hari - Stuck between a nettle tree and a garden scythe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning;  
> Like the previous chapter this is not the typical "side-story drafts" either, instead it’s more like another; “what might have been” piece.
> 
> **This is set in a potential future – I don’t even know exactly when - and written purely for the fun of it. I also think it can be considered a one-shot.**
> 
> English is not my native language, so I apologize for the mistakes!

**#4** **Hari**

**Stuck between a nettle tree and a garden scythe**

Everyone finds out before Hari, but she’d forever insist there was no way she could have known.

It starts with fatigue, but Hari blames that on a couple of back to back missions. Though when Hari gets so tired she has to skip over a training session, Kakashi lets her sleep in and even brings back dinner from Ichiraku so they won’t have to deal with either cooking or cleaning. When the nausea hits Hari calls in sick – because honestly, she never gets symptoms like these, so she should probably be on the cautious side. Kakashi agrees.

Despite rest it doesn’t get much better, instead Hari gains headaches, but at least those are passing. And it’s not like she’s _that_ sick. She is just not as effective on a daily basis as she’s grown used to.

“Perhaps you’re pregnant?” Kasuga asks over lunch after listening to Hari complain.

Hari chuckles and shakes her head. “No. I think everything is just catching up with me.” She answers dismissively and waves a hand.

Afterwards she goes home and runs to the toilet to throw up the meal she just ate, while Kakashi remains in the hallway making grimaces and trying not to get involved. When she comes out he’s waiting for her and ask; “still not better?”

And Hari shakes her head. “Apparently not.”

He hesitates. “Perhaps you should go to the hospital? You don’t get sick.”

“I’m fine.” Hari insists. “I did the diagnostic jutsu, and it didn’t pick up on anything out of the ordinary. It can’t be anything major – otherwise it would have registered it.”

Kakashi nods, appeased.

_It’s short lived._

  
  


  
  


They’d been trying to have sex, but unfortunately - “Ouch,”

Hari pushes away from Kakashi and rolls onto the bed, because damn it, her breasts hurts. He peers at her bewildered, brows raised high since that has never happened before. Ever.

The signs are disconcerting, but Hari pushes the aches aside and heads off on her next mission determined to “shake it off”.

It’s a nightmare to get through, but she makes it with a growing suspicion that she may be dying – though at least the assignment is a success.

On the way back Santa and Hyūga Neji are on her like a couple of blood thirsty mosquitoes.

“You should not have gone on the mission.”

“You can’t run around like this in your condition, Hari!”

“What if you got hit?”

Their nagging is grating, and she’d already been in a terrible mood. Hari whirls on them, regrets it when she gets dizzy, and nearly growls; “I’m not pregnant! Stop that!”

She comes home, and a week later so does Kakashi.

It’s been a month since they left for their individual missions, but when she comes to greet him in the hallway Kakashi is struck dumb by the sight of her. For a moment it’s like Hari can actually see it when undiluted shock makes his ghost temporarily evacuate his body. The blatant staring is uncomfortable as his thoughts flashes behind a terrified black eye.

He makes a couple attempts at forming words, but lands on a less than classy remark about how;

“You put on weight.”

Hari scowls.

“Not you too!” She throws her arms in the air and is tempted to storm out. Because one thing is Kasuga, Santa and bloody Hyūga Neji – what the heck would they know? - but Kakashi had once been her acting captain for a while, and for all his laid-back attitude he always did research on any subordinate well – so he of all people really shouldn’t be talking that way.

After a few failed attempt at bringing the topic up – all of which Hari shuts down - he doesn’t speak up again. Later that same evening she catches him hyperventilating in the bathroom. It takes him a couple of hours to gather himself and face her again, but afterwards he begins to watch her a lot more closely.

Hari isn’t stupid, she knows what all these men are thinking - _but she isn’t pregnant._

Kakashi starts making the dinners, switching from take-away and fast dinners to healthier meals, and this is _**so**_ not necessary, but he usually try to wiggle out of it, so if he wants to live in denial, that’s on him.

It lasts for about four days, when; “What do you mean there are no missions?” Hari asks, and crosses her arms in front of her. It’s an awkward action these days since her chest is larger than she’s used to, and her usually loose robes barely fits anymore. Hari had considered updating her wardrobe soon, because if she kept gaining weight her current attires would get vulgar soon.

“No missions for you.” The admin say, then looks up. “You’re listed as off active duty and… oh, there’s a note here for you too. You are to go to the hospital for an appointment. It’s the Hokage’s orders.”

And Hari can’t refuse that can she?

  
  


She’d been meaning to go anyway. Because though they are all mistaken, there is clearly something going on with her. She should have checked out what was wrong before, but Hari’s been very worried it is serious – like perhaps she really is dying.

Kakashi wouldn’t take that well, and she thinks if the Mokuton cells were finally acting up and were turning on their host, then there would not be much they can do to fix it anyway.

Though annoyed he went behind her back and manoeuvred her into this, Hari isn’t shocked to see Kakashi in the hospital room when she gets there. He smiles and kiss her hand in apology, which is the same as; ‘ _I know you’re annoyed but I’ll stay here anyway’_ , gesture, and she shakes her head. If she’s dying it’s probably better he hears it from Tsunade-sama anyway.

Tsunade does the check-up in person, her brow furrowed while she runs tests, followed by a lot of questions. Hari answers honestly, and she’s glad the medic doesn't jump to conclusions. She has access to Hari’s medical files, and knows better.

At least until -

“You’re pregnant.” Tsunade states firmly.

“Do you believe it now?” Kakashi ask, his shoulders sagging as if relieved - which is a very different reaction from what Hari had witnessed a couple of days before. When the act of taking a warm bun from the oven had nearly caused him a panic attack.

And Hari is a medic, she can see what the results are claiming as well, but- “It must be some kind of growth in my uterus. I knew it, it’s a tumour, isn’t it?”

“No.” Tsunade answer, and she isn’t annoyed or amused, simply matter of factly. “I checked. I checked all possibilities. That is 100% a baby.”

“But that isn’t possible.” Hari replies.

It really isn’t.

Because Hari _**can’t**_ have children.

She had known that since she was young and her puberty wouldn’t set in right. She could count on her hands how many times she’d had a period in her entire life. Hari had accepted it and moved on – it’s not like there was another option. Those tanks had some consequences that simply couldn’t be rectified, and Tenzō was in the same boat.

Tsunade knows that. Kakashi knows that.

So why are they saying differently now?

“From my estimations you are about twenty four weeks along.” Tsunade states, her tone firm and leaving no room for arguments. “Congratulations.”

Which means… Hari was wrong, and everyone else were right.

_Merlin, damn it!_

There’s a disconnect in her head as the world reline itself. What has happened starts to make sense, though more importantly; what is to come begins to dawn on her.

An abrupt wave of comprehension wash over Hari, causing her head to spin and the world to turn black at the edges. Fainting isn’t really Hari’s style, so instead she has to feel the chaotic emotional turmoil.

 _She never planned for this – it wasn’t supposed to happen – they had a plan and now everything was different – Hari suspected she was terminally ill, not six months_ _pregnant! And oh, bloody hell; they didn’t know anything about raising a kid – where were they supposed to put it? There was a person growing inside her - fucking hell, she would have to give birth now!_ _ ~~And what if it had the~~_ _ ~~Mokuton~~_ _ ~~too?~~_ _ ~~She~~_ _ ~~never wanted to pass on something like that to another person.~~_ _ ~~It~~_ _ ~~would be chased, coveted and Hari feels so~~_ _ ~~sick she can’t even~~_ _-_

It’s too much,

and Hari starts sobbing.

Now more than ever only one could have a meltdown at a time - and for once Hari has been allowed to be the one to fall to pieces. It’s only fair; Kakashi figured it out first and already had the opportunity to process things and freak out. Though a few weeks later things has calmed down.

_Almost too much._

As a ninja on maternity leave with access to Mokuton it means Hari can be damn effective when she needs to. Without the usual scheduled practises or daily duties Hari’s bored out of her mind and she feels better with preparations, so she gets to work. It takes about a day to renovate the study into a room for an infant, baby secured the house and she’s well into making furnitures for the child when Kakashi comes home after training. He’s impressed with her progress, and she’s just as unexpectedly pleased to hear he’s been productive too.

“Kuwa” Kakashi suggest for a baby name, and Hari makes an agreeable humming sound. “Not bad.”

Tenzō had come back with Kakashi, having been nearly as shocked about the news as Hari had been. However, he isn’t too impressed with ‘Kuwa’, not finding the meaning of the name suitable. “Hoe? You want to name your kid ‘hoe’?” Tenzō asks dubiously.

“Well… Hari’s name means ‘beam’, and I’m ‘scarecrow’.” Kakashi answers.

“’Hoe’ seems to fit, doesn’t it?” Hari agrees. “There’s a lot of farmers who use water hoes in the area.”

Kakashi smiles. “So we’ll name the kid Kuwa?”

Hari nods agreeable in tandem with Tenzō who’s shaking his head in the negative.

“I changed my mind about the name.” Kakashi declares two weeks later, shaking his head like a wet dog to get the water out. “Not Kuwa.”

She takes it in stride, as Hari’s had a few alternatives milling around in her head.

“Kama?” Hari suggests as an alternative, gesturing to the tall crop cutter tool resting against the Enoki tree in the yard. Kakashi studies the scythe to consider how suitable it was to name a kid after it, then shrugs.

Hari is pretty certain that was a; _sure._

When she tells Shion and Hisao about the name they landed on they’re just as unimpressed as Tenzō was about the previous suggestion. “You guys have the worst naming tradition.” Hisao sighs.

“And Konohamaru was a better name?” Hari asks drily. “How is naming the kid after the village different than gardening equipment?” She asks.

Hisao looks at her as if she’s stupid. “If you don’t see that for yourself I’m not sure I can help you, Hari.”

Their son comes out a red lump of screaming fury – not that Hari blames him. Considering the circus he got dropped into he was within his rights to be less than impressed with the lacklustre welcoming committee.

Hari and her visitors had only just sat down for lunch when she concludes that the extreme discomfort she’s been experiencing for the last few weeks seems a bit different, _and huh… is that water?_

“Bloody hell, I think my water broke.”

“W-wha-what? It’s coming now, aunt Hari? You said there were three weeks left, korē!!”

“What do we do? What do we do? My maths book hasn’t taught me this! What do we do, Konohamaru-kun!?”

“Don’t worry, Hari-sensei! My aunt had a baby two years ago, and I was right outside and heard everything! I’ve got this!”

Leaving her stuck with Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon – _of all the incompetent birthing partners in the world_ – assisting with the delivery.

‘The Konohamaru OB-GYN corps’ left a lot for a labouring mother to be desired.

Pacing obsessively Udon was stressing out, Konohamaru was flailing, and Moegi’s less than helpful advice since she fancied herself “as good as a midwife” was simply too much on top of childbirth. Thank Merlin it’s quick, there was only so much Hari could handle at a time. Especially after Moegi insisted she’d be the one to pull out the child, but instead ended up dizzy and green faced.

Enough was enough, and as Konohamaru was occupied fanning a towel over Moegi’s face since she was still at risk of swooning, Hari grabbed a firm hold of Udon’s wrist as he walked past her head for the three hundredth repetition in less than two minutes and barked; “Go get, Kakashi – now!”

He was not hard to convince, and very nearly managed his first shunshin as he threw himself out the living room window.

Everything was happening too fast for her to reach the hospital - unless she wanted to run the risk of having to squat down in the field - which is why Hari made a wood clone despite how much her body protested her casting jutsus at the moment, and had it deliver the kid instead.

Really, it was a miracle no one got hurt.

He’s born healthy and though this might not be the most crucial thing for others, it is to Hari – so she immediately checks him over herself and runs tests. The results makes her go faint with relief when learning her son shows no sign of bloodline at all - and that helps Hari land on the right name.

They’d considered it before, but now that she knows he does not have the Wood Release, Hari doesn’t mind naming him after the Enoki tree that’s been growing in the yard since way back when Sakumo had lived here.

Hari’s exhausted and lets Konohamaru hold him. Moegi has regained her usual pink cheeked colour, but Hari makes it clear she isn’t allowed to hold the baby until there is no risk of fainting. In the meanwhile Konohamaru is happy to look after little Hatake Enoki while Hari gets a moment to rest, though the two kids are outraged at her absent husband. As long as Udon managed to track him down Hari’s sure he’ll be here any moment, _but still..._

“I can’t believe uncle Kakashi missed it, korē! Of all the things to be late for!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This little “one-shot” was mostly written for those readers (and I know there are several of them) who wants Hari and Kakashi to have a kid in Falling Leaves of Evergreen Trees. As it’s not very likely I’ll cover that in the main story I ended up putting this together instead, so I hope it was entertaining. 
> 
> Name clarifications and translations:  
> Kuwa = Hoe  
> Kama = Scythe  
> Enoki = Nettle Tree  
> Fun facts: back when Kishomoto was working on the Naruto series all these names were potential alternatives that could have been used for Kakashi’s character, before Kishimoto landed on “Kakashi” – I personally think he picked right.  
> It also gave me a list to work with for this little short story though :)
> 
> In the main story I mentioned Hari has decided not to have kids; not that she can’t have one like it is implied here.  
> That’s because I do not think a pregnancy slip-up could happen otherwise. Kakashi and Hari are too careful and would know how to use protection effectively. Not to mention the latter is a medic.  
> However; if the two were under the impression Hari could not have kids than they would not be careful, which is about the only scenario where I believe an unexpected pregnancy could happen for those two in particular (and in Hari’s case; some hardcore denial). 
> 
> Earlier in the main story I also considered if Orochimaru’s experiments might have left Hari unable to have children, but then I couldn’t figure out how that worked with the Mokuton’s regeneration abilities. Wouldn’t her body automatically heal her because of the Mokuton cells? But then the body is a complex network, if you affect on thing it will knock a lot of other things out of balance, and Orochimaru went to town on Hari and Tenzō, so… yeah, that’s a topic I haven’t really landed on, but in the end I decided it didn’t matter for the main story – I was never going to write a pregnancy plot for Hari – so bringing focus to this there was just unnecessary and would distract from the actual plot I’ve been trying to write. 
> 
> I guess that’s what is nice about a side story with snippets and drafts; it allows me to explore ideas that might not work with the main story, but are still fun scenarios to imagine.  
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> **PS: I've added some rough sketches at the end, because character design is too much fun to pass up trying to design Enoki (...Especially when he'd probably have dogs)**


End file.
